


This Place Is Death

by KiraDood5



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, POV First Person, Reunions, back from the dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 19:58:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11043252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraDood5/pseuds/KiraDood5
Summary: Agonizing pain wracked through his body.He writhed on the ground, groaning and crying out in a whole new world of hurt.The sun was rising just above the trees, the sound of a dawn chorus among the woods.Casey Hartley is home. He's alive.But why?[A work in progress multi-chapter story.]





	This Place Is Death

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was (and still is) a few weeks in the making! After the good reception of my first submission on here, I decided to write another Casey-centric story because my dead son deserved so much better. Hope you guys enjoy the first chapter of suffering!  
> ~ Kira

 

 

> Absent of grace, marked as infernal  
>  Ungranted in dead time left me disowned  
>  To this nature, so unnatural  
>  I remain alone
> 
> ~ AFI - _"...but home is nowhere"_
> 
> * * *

**\---CHAPTER ONE: GONE, STILL---** _  
_

_Nothingness._

_Surrounded in a blank sea, floating through the dark._

_No sound. No sight. No feeling._

_It's an abyss without an end._

_There's nothing for me._

_Nothing..._

 

 

***GASP***

 

It felt like I'd fallen from a four-story building and landed flat on my back. I could barely breathe. My body hurts like hell. Whatever this was, it hurt more than any bone I've broken in my life. My eyes couldn't open and I couldn't stop shaking, the pain was that bad. I could barely hear anything other than the sounds of birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind, and a horrible ringing in my ears. The only thing I could do was lay on the ground and wait for the pain to go away.

It never did, but it started to hurt less.

My first thoughts were simple enough.

_Stand up._

I rolled myself onto my chest and pushed myself until I was sitting on my knees. Good enough.

Next order of business.

_Open your eyes._

I nearly felt blinded by the rising sun as soon as I opened my eyes into a squint. The snow on the ground didn't help either.

Snow... The winter? What am I doing in the middle of the snow?

My head ached like no tomorrow. I could barely focus on anything. What happened to me?

I raised my hands in front of my eyes to try and shield myself from the bright sun reflecting off of the white blanket of snow. The first few breaths that I took in felt refreshing, like I just went outside for the first time in weeks. My ears stopped ringing and my eyes adjusted to what was around me. Finally, I could actually see and hear things. I'm... near the entrance to a mine? It's blocked off by yellow caution tape, though... What else is here? Trees. Fallen, dead leaves. A shallow hill leading... somewhere. Ugh, where the hell was I? Where **am** I? I still couldn't piece things together, not with this splitting headache. A few things are for sure, though. I'm in the woods. I woke up near a mine in the middle of the winter. It's in the morning. And I think I'm alive. I hope I'm alive, at least.

With a loud grunt, I got onto my feet, but not without wobbling a bit. My entire sense of balance is screwed up. What did I do to get this way? ...Maybe I fell off that hill and knocked my head on something. That seems reasonable, let's just go with that for now. Baby steps, now... You can do this-- Wait. What's my name again? What, I couldn't have forgotten my name. It's...

...Shit. I forgot my own name. Whatever. Figure it out later. Just start walking. One foot in front of the other, there we go. I slowly made my way up to the top of the hill, looking toward the distance. There wasn't much that I could see with the falling snow covering everything a good few yards away from me. The only thing I can do to fix that is to just keep walking forward. You'll find something. The birds chirped in the trees, and the dead leaves and snow on the ground crunched under my shoes. Geez, it's freakin' cold. How did I not freeze to death when I was unconscious? So many questions, not enough energy to make myself think. My head started to feel a bit better, but not enough to remember much, if anything. But I know that I've been here before. But when? Why?

It must've been a few minutes until I started to see less trees and more nothing. It was just an empty field as far as the eye could see, and I still couldn't see much with all of this snow in the way. Am I even going anywhere? I feel like I'm doing something right... Well, no harm in walking some more. My legs hurt a bit, and my fingers feel a bit numb from the cold, but I can tough it out. Just keep on walking. You can do this. You're the man. You're--

* * *

_\--not gonna be missed..._

_...sure about this?_

_...bad news for..._

_...just a kid..._

_...Possum Springs will..._

_...sorry..._

* * *

 

Shit. Sharp pains struck through my head as soon as I heard those voices ring through my head. I felt my heart race and my breath started to pick up. What was all that...? Possum Springs? Why... Why does that sound so familiar? What were those voices? And... Why did I feel like I was scared? Ugh, what the hell is going on?!

Okay. Calm down. Now's not the time to freak out. You might just be remembering things, is all. But those were some strange things to be remembering... Just forget it for now. You gotta keep moving. Just walk and take some deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. There you go. Now you're moving again. ...But I still can't see anything. Just snow, now. No leaves, no trees, no birds. Just snow. Wait. Trees in the distance. Maybe I'm getting somewhere. I feel like this is the right direction somehow, so I think I'm right! I picked up the pace and walked a bit faster. My body shook off all of the pain from waking up, now I feel like I can move instead of trudge along.

I walked closer to the trees and noticed something huge. There was a path. Now we're getting somewhere! The feeling of hope filled my heart, and I started moving even faster without noticing. You're getting somewhere. Keep on going, and you'll be bound to find more. And that's just what I did. I walked until my feet hurt. I passed through a bridge. There weren't any more leaves on the ground, but pavement was under the snow. And there was a building in the distance! Yes! I felt so strangely excited just to see something that wasn't trees and... trees. As soon as I reached the building, I looked closely at what it looked like. It was abandoned. Very abandoned. Broken windows, gross stains on the brick wall, and decaying signs.

"Food... Donkey?" I managed to mutter out. Hold on... I know this place. This used to be a grocery store. Yeah, I remember now! It got closed down, but I remember it. Holy shit, now we're getting somewhere! And there's more things just up ahead. Maybe if I keep going, I'll--

* * *

_...hate it here..._

_...wanna move somewhere..._

_...anywhere but here..._

_...'Die Anywhere Else'..._

* * *

There it is again. I'm definitely remembering more things now. It was all negative, though... I must hate it here. No. I do hate it here. Now I remember a lot more.

This is Possum Springs. Home. But it doesn't feel like home to me. I've been to other places that felt more like home than here. There are things I like about this place, but the cons outweigh the pros. I... think I wrote something about how much I wanted to get away from here. I know I called it 'Die Anywhere Else', but I don't know what it actually was. A poem? A song? Maybe just something I wrote down a lot of times in a journal. I'll have to figure that out soon. But I'm getting cold. Cold and hungry. There's gotta be somewhere I have to crash for a bit. Just gotta keep on walking and looking.

Wait. Wasn't there a Snack Falcon somewhere? Yeah, I remember that, too. That would be perfect. But something else feels a bit hazy... What am I forgetting?

It took me more minutes of walking to find that Snack Falcon, and a couple more... memory blackouts, I think I'll call them. Nothing too special, though. Not yet. But here I was, standing at the entrance to the little shop. The lights inside were off, so it must be closed. But... What if the door isn't locked? Immediately, I reached for the handle and turned it. God, it's so cold...

...Oh wow, it's actually unlocked. What kind of person leaves this place unlocked? That's just asking for robbery... Whatever. I got inside and shut the door behind me. It felt so good to be inside a place where freezing wind and snow isn't breathing down on you. I sighed and frantically rubbed my poor hands together. So numb... I need food. I don't care what kind of food, I just need to eat something. Let's start with those chips...

* * *

God, it felt so good to have food. Even if it was junk that will probably make me gain a few pounds, it's just so worth it. I feel better already. Well, my head is still hurting, but not nearly as much as it was when I woke up. Reaching for a candy bar, peeling the wrapping off of it and just chowing down without any sense of decency. Ahhhh... Food good. Maybe I should get some water or something to wash it down--

"Geez! It's really cold today. Brrr!"

Shit. Someone's here. Do they work here? No need to think about that now. I need to hide. I don't want to get in trouble for just trying to keep myself alive. Quick, think! There's gotta be somewhere you can hide.

"Back to my shitty job behind this shitty counter to deal with this shitty cash register. Oh, yeah, turn the lights on."

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit the lights are on he's coming right for me I'm done I'm gonna get in trouble with the cops oh God oh God oh God--

"Huh? ...Who's there? I can hear you breathing!"

SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT HE'S RIGHT THERE--

 

 

...He's looking right at me. He's just standing there. Staring like he just witnessed a murder. He's--

* * *

_\--such a nerd!_

_"Look who's talking, Hartley!"_

_"Hey, at least I admit I'm a nerd! You just think you're always cool!"_

_"Uh, because I am?"_

_"Riiiiiight."_

_Hahahahahaha..._

* * *

...I remember. I remember now.

"Uh, Gregg. This is not what it looks li--"

Wait. Is... Is he crying? He's tearing up and stepping back. What's gotten into him?

"C-C-Casey...? But... No, you're...!" Gregg choked out, near the verge of breaking into tears.

"Dude, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." I looked at him with confusion. Did something happen? I don't understand what's going on, but if Gregg wasn't crying just a couple seconds before, he's crying now. In fact, he's not just crying. He's wailing. He's shaking like a leaf and blubbering. What is going on?

"Casey...! Casey, oh God...! It can't be you, it can't!" Now I'm confused. I really don't understand what's gotten into him.

"Huh? Why can't it be me? Dude, are you going to be alright? I can--"

"NO!!" He snapped at me with tears streaming down his face. I flinched and nearly fell on my back.

"You're supposed to be dead!! You-! You-! Why are you-?!"

...Dead?

I suddenly yelped in pain. My head feels like it just got split open. I can hear everything... I can see everything... I can feel it all coming back. But I don't understand.

If I'm dead... Why am I here?

 

 


End file.
